SONY DRU-500AX nedd advice on it plz

[joestaind]

hey
im writing to se if anyone can help by giving me infomation on this dvd writer
i might be buying this one and i wanted to know before i buy whetgere it will do the stuff i want it to do
i want it to make dvd-r
and work with nero cause i find that easy to use
i just want to be able to put SONY DRU-500AX into my computer and make dvd-r on nero it can do that right
and also just another questiuon
you know dvd-lab can you burn dvds on there cause you make the animated menus on there and link them to videos and i was wondering can you burn dvds on that program aswell as nero with SONY DRU-500AX
thanks for help
joe

[housepig]

Yes, the 500AX will work fine with Nero, it will burn projects authored in DVD Lab. I've been using one for about 6 months and have had no problem on 100+ burns.

(I take that back... I've burned about 4 or 5 coasters, but due to my own faulty data, not a bad burn).

The only things you may have problems with - the ripping speed is locked at 2x (I use a Lite-On 16x for ripping), and it can be picky about 4x media. I've tried some that worked, and some that didn't (sorry, don't remember the brands offhand).

But it's a great drive, I'm really happy with it. BTW, I have not upgraded or changed the original firmware.

[garryheather]

First of all, you can't just put a recorder in the PC and burn DVD's. Well, not video ones, anyway. If it was that easy, we would all be doing it.



I hope you are not under the impression it is as easy as copying an audio CD, not that you would do that anyway, because it is illegal.

Things like menus can be achieved through a number of applications, animated menus are a little rarer. All of these should support the writer with the right updates.

Most if not all of the "stuff" you need can be found in the TOOLS section on the left, along with a load of guides. You might also like to check out doom9.org, as there are a lot of good guides and links there too.

[joestaind]

yeh thanks for your replys
ive made vcds before and done stuff like copied dvds and converted to vcd and burned them and now my next step is to burn dvds my own dvds with my own menus that i will hopefully be able to create with dvd lab it looks fairly easy and you can do animated menus looks good
thanks again for replys oh and i know you cant just put a dvd writer into your pc i was just writing quickly you know lol
anyway later
joe

[housepig]

Gary -

got to disagree with you slightly.

First of all, you can't just put a recorder in the PC and burn DVD's. Well, not video ones, anyway.

Sure you can. You can either rip a disc, or burn a DVD you author. I had a dvd burning about 45 minutes after I installed the drive. (A single layer disc I ripped as an ISO with DVD Decrypter).

I hope you are not under the impression it is as easy as copying an audio CD, not that you would do that anyway, because it is illegal.

a) that depends on the disc, b) it's not illegal to back up your discs, c) where did he say he was backing up copyrighted discs in the first place?

for a change, it sounds like this new poster has some of the basic concepts in place (ie that you need an authoring program to author, and a burning program to burn). While he might not be 100% on how animated menus are created, I think he's at least on the right basic track.

[garryheather]

Hi Housepig,

Yep, you've kind of made my point for me regarding the video aspect. The point I was trying to raise (and not very well) is that it is doubtful that when you buy a drive that you will get all the things you need to backup video DVD's out of the box. DVD Decrypter is a fine utility, but I bet the manufacturer of the drive won't go out of their way to tell you about it or supply it for you ! Audio CD's are quick and easy by today's DVD standards, even XP will write those, but I remember when audio CD's were as complicated to produce as some DVD's are today. Things will and have moved on, only the DCMA have things to say about that whole issue, and in many countries the whole issue of what consitutes a legal backup and whether or not you have the right to use a program that circumvents the protection or otherwise reverse engineers a product is another matter.

The other aspect to my point is you can pretty much write a DATA DVD out of the box without any other hacking tools, but you can't usually drag and drop a professionally mastered product onto a blank like you usually can with a CD. Many new users of their drives will find it's like buying a car and not getting the engine, then finding a supplier only to find the damn thing is self assembly when they get it.

In other words, newbies need to be aware that DVD authoring can be a lot more complicated than the CD's they are used to making in the past, and have their own problems that need to be overcome. Some solutions are easier to find or implement than others, and the links and guides here are a good place to start their research into what can be a complicated and time consuming process to learn. People don't seem to read FAQ's or use the search any more, and I wonder sometimes if they're that lazy if they've got the time to try and work the things out which prevent DVD authoring being done by the world and his wife at present.

But a good point well made - the tools are readily available if people know where to look, and that probably won't be in the box the drive came in !

[housepig]

Gary -

I wouldn't have replied to (and disagreed with aspects of) your post if Joestaind had struck me as a typical newbie.

however, he didn't - he's aware that you need to author discs, he's aware that "authoring" and "burning" are two separate entities, and he's not saying anything about backing up existing discs. and he obviously knows he has other resources than what's in the manufacturer's box, because he's here.

his second post reenforces this to me - he's done some vcd's and conversion, he's not a typical first-timer here. he's familiar with some aspects of the process.

so in my opinion, it does this guy a disservice to reply to his post with some stock noob answers, some of which don't address anything in his original post.

[rawplug]

a waste of bandwidth and calories if you ask me, chill out 8)